Patriarchs and Prophets

In Saul, God had given to Israel a king after their own heart, as Samuel said when
the kingdom was confirmed to Saul at Gilgal, “Behold the king whom ye have chosen,
and whom ye have desired.” 1 Samuel 12:13. Comely in person, of noble stature and
princely bearing, his appearance accorded with their conceptions of royal dignity; and
his personal valor and his ability in the conduct of armies were the qualities which
they regarded as best calculated to secure respect and honor from other nations. They
felt little solicitude that their king should possess those higher qualities which alone
could fit him to rule with justice and equity. They did not ask for one who had true
nobility of character, who possessed the love and fear of God. They had not sought
counsel from God as to the qualities a ruler should possess, in order to preserve their
distinctive, holy character as his chosen people. They were not seeking God’s way,
but their own way. Therefore God gave them such a king as they desired—one whose
character was a reflection of their own. Their hearts were not in submission to God,
and their king also was unsubdued by divine grace. Under the rule of this king they
would obtain the experience necessary in order that they might see their error, and
return to their allegiance to God.
Yet the Lord, having placed on Saul the responsibility of the kingdom, did not
leave him to himself. He caused the Holy Spirit to rest upon Saul to reveal to him his
own weakness and his need of divine grace; and had Saul relied upon God, God would
have been with him. So long as his will was controlled by the will of God, so long as
he yielded to the discipline of his Spirit, God could crown his efforts with success. But
when Saul chose to act independently of God, the Lord could no longer be his guide,
and was forced to set him aside. Then he called to the throne “a man after his own
heart” (1 Samuel 13:14)—not one who was faultless in character, but who, instead of
trusting to himself, would rely upon God, and be guided by his Spirit; who, when he
sinned, would submit to reproof and correction.
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